The author recounts his capture after a battlefield engagement and the ensuing ordeal as a prisoner in Confederate camps and jails, including arraignments before prominent rebel generals, shackling with heavy irons, and severe confinement. He narrates a daring escape with a fellow officer, weeks hiding in malarial swamps while hunted with bloodhounds, and repeated aid received from enslaved people. Recapture leads to further imprisonment until release on exchange. Interwoven with these episodes are vivid descriptions of prison life, the wounded, military and judicial proceedings, Southern social attitudes, and reflections on slavery and human endurance.